Tim Abbey, the district buildings and grounds chief, updated the project at a recent Dunkirk Board of Education meeting. District voters approved the approximately $83.7 million project in May.

“We have been very busy the past couple months,” Abbey said. “The process has been day-long sessions. We’ve had teachers, principals, administrators, food service staff. We’re in the design stage, which isn’t really super-detailed at this point but we had to get in a certain level of detail to get an estimate of where we stand with the budget.”

Abbey showed a timeline of the project. It’s not scheduled to close out until 2032. “I think we need to remind ourselves where we are at,” he said.

Noting a report that a teacher is already packing a classroom in preparation for a construction-related move, he said, “Take a time out. We would let you know when you need to pack. It’s not tomorrow, it’s not even maybe by the end of the school year.”

Abbey continued, “This is a long project. I think we’re going to have lots of meetings like this to refresh ourselves where we’re at. A lot of the cool things we’re going to be doing (are) stretched out — to make the budget work, it’s stretched out until 2032.”

The initial design package is complete and the district’s construction management team will go through the design “and make sure it meets the budget amount for this phase,” Abbey said.

Board President Kenneth Kozlowski asked how long the review would take. Abbey said about four weeks. The construction consultants would then reconcile their plans with the architects, he said. Abbey hopes to have the design submitted to state authorities in early January.

A third party review of the design is also in place. “We’re eligible for it, we’re going to pursue that,” Abbey said. “We’re not entirely sure how much time we’re going to gain by it, but we’re going to try and take advantage of it.”

Planners are trying to use maroon and white colors in the construction. That was evident in the artist renderings of interiors which Abbey showed.

He noted the high school’s nurses office will move into a new area. An addition is set for the high school main office, which will connect to a new guidance office area.

The high school cafeteria is getting a new look. “This was a very challenging space. We wanted to modernize and have different mixes of seating, but at the same time we needed to maintain the capacity of a lunch period potentially having 225 students… I think we accomplished it,” Abbey said.

This kitchen production area will also get renovated, and moved slightly.

School 7 is getting an addition with dedicated special education classrooms. “I think it’s going to be something special when it’s done,” Abbey said.

Media centers at Schools 5 and 7 are getting makeovers. Hallways at the schools are also set for renovations.

“This doesn’t really represent all the things that are happening but it’s kind of like the cool stuff,” Abbey concluded. “There’s lots of floor plans, there’s a lot of general classrooms. We have more than we can show you.”

Responding to a question from Kozlowski, Abbey said construction could start “end of summer, early fall,” but that’s “if the stars align.”